Eight-year-old boy becomes youngest person to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan - The Guardian US

An eight-year-old lad has go the youngest idiosyncratic to ascend the terrifying sheer stone partition of El Capitan successful America’s Yosemite nationalist park, his father said successful a Facebook post.

Sam Adventure Baker has been going up the immense cliff with his begetter since Tuesday. The duo are portion of a four-person team, wherever 1 idiosyncratic climbs up and sets the ropes for others to follow. Nights are spent sleeping connected the stone face.

“I’m truthful arrogant of Sam. He completed the youngest enactment ascent of El Cap! In a fewer years helium mightiness beryllium be backmost breaking much records,” Joe Baker wrote.

Sam’s mother, Ann Baker, told CNN they’ve been supportive of Sam’s adventures. “He seems truly blessed to beryllium up determination and spirits are high,” she said.

Ascending El Capitan, a stone enactment rising 3,000ft supra the Yosemite valley, is simply a daunting task for adjacent the astir experienced climbers and a cherished extremity for galore successful the planetary climbing community.

In 2019 Selah Schneiter, 10, scaled the monolithic climb, setting the past record for the youngest idiosyncratic to ever bash so.

However, the achievements of specified young children is not without controversy. Some climbers accidental the method they usually usage – known arsenic “jugging” oregon a enactment ascent – is not existent climbing arsenic the climber uses the enactment to spell upwards, not truly interacting overmuch with the stone face.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported 1 long-time Yosemite climber – who monitors radical making ascents of El Capitan – arsenic saying: “This is simply a publicity hoax.”

“The guides bash everything that I’ve seen… That’s wherefore this is not a climb,” Tom Evans told the newspaper.